


While Waiting for the Train One Night

by bar2d2s



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, that Tinder AU no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 19:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13531410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bar2d2s/pseuds/bar2d2s
Summary: If Tinder is the only thing Hux has to distract him while waiting on his train home, he may want to consider downloading a less aggravating game.





	While Waiting for the Train One Night

**Author's Note:**

> You ever DM someone a short story last year and forget about it? Because boy howdy I sure did!

Hux didn't even know why he'd downloaded Tinder in the first place. The potential for decent hookups was worse than Grindr, but better than just running into Starbucks and screaming "any cute guys in here want to screw?" Actually now that he'd thought back on it, a barista wrote his number on a cup for him once, back when he was in college. Meanwhile, he'd had a Tinder account for a month now and hadn't yet gotten an actual face to face meetup with anyone, despite all the matches he'd acquired. 

As he waited for his train home, there really wasn't anything to do other than swipe through the stack of hopefuls. It was all he could do to keep from muttering his criticisms to himself, leaning his elbows on the hood of a trash can. Too short, no blondes, hideous facial hair, swipe swipe swipe. Suddenly, his phone pinged. Someone had superliked him.

The username, xxxKylo_Renxxx, was fucking awful. Straight off a LiveJournal circa 2004. The profile picture was...not bad, actually. A nice shot of a man in a leather jacket and a Stop Wars shirt holding a bottle of beer and laughing. It looked like it had been taken at a barbecue or a rooftop bar. The man had an odd face, but it wasn't unpleasant. His nose and ears were charmingly large, his long, dark hair held back in a ponytail. He looked tall and, glancing down at the actual profile, Hux spotted the words "yes, I'm actually 6'5". No I won't help you get on roller coasters." He snickered, despite himself.

"27, out, fun. I'm here for hookups, but that's mostly because each and every one of you just wants to be on my dick, not in my heart." Hux laughed out loud. How corny. "I have a preference for tall, skinny guys, like the ginger on the platform across from mine."

Hux stopped reading. Blinked. Looked up. Ten feet ahead of him was the same man from the picture, leather jacket and all. His shirt had a huge picture of Darth Vader's face on it, and he was wearing Converse. He smiled wide and waved, his arms bulging beneath his jacket's sleeves. "Hey!" He called, as if Hux hadn't spotted him immediately. "Swipe right!"

He swiped left.

Hux leaned forward, chin balanced on his fist. With his other hand, he slipped his phone back into his coat, then beckoned the man forward. 'Kylo Ren' fairly bounded towards him, from the train heading downtown. "Why didn't you swipe right?" He panted as he got close, and Hux rolled his eyes.

"Because that's the most extra thing anyone has ever done to get my attention, and I refuse to reward theatrics." 

"C'mon, it's the perfect meet-cute story for our future grandkids." Hux had planned to say something else, but that statement had his jaw hanging. 

"I, you don't, I don't even know your  _name_."

The bright smile had never left his face. "I'm Ben. Your profile says you have a cat and like coffee. Want to get a coffee and tell me about your cat? We can go from there."

"It's nearly eight in the evening, Ben." Hux shook his head, not wanting to let that infectious smile take hold of him. "I've got work in the morning." 

"A drink, then. Just one. And some nachos, so you're not drinking on an empty stomach. Please?" He looked so sincere. Hux sighed, then stood. 

"Alright, I'll bite. But if you plan to murder me, do let me know ahead of time so I can arrange for a friend to take care of my cat."

Ben laughed, reaching out to take his hand as they headed up the platform, back towards the stairs. His hands were large and warm, and Hux couldn't find it within himself to be annoyed at the blatant forwardness of the act. "I'm the one who should be worried, you haven't even told me your name." 

"Hux." He replied automatically. 

"Hux?" Ben repeated skeptically, and Hux felt himself blush. 

"It's my surname. My first name is awful. If you don't believe me, I could give you my card." They broke surface, fresh, cold air slapping them in the face as cars whipped by. Ben held out the hand not already laced with his, and Hux dutifully deposited a business card, fumbled from his phone case. 

"Arm-it-age?" Ben pronounced slowly, squinting at the card. A second or two passed, and he brightened. "Please tell me I can call you Armie." The last person to call him Armie had been his father's housekeeper when he was a child, but his father had put a swift end to that. The name sounded nice in Ben's deep tones, more than just the cold causing his face to go pink. "Or is nicknamery more of a third date thing? Because I can wait."

Alright, that had been the second time Ben had mentioned them having any sort of a future together. The first one had been a cute line, but now it was toeing the edge of creepy. "What makes you so sure there's going to be a third date?" 

"Wishful thinking?" Ben supplied hopefully. "I mean, I really think you're going to like me, and I already know I'm going to like you, so." 

"And how do you know that?" Hux demanded, tone sharp. 

Ben dropped his hand, shoving both of his own into his pockets. "Your profile pics show you at a concert for a local band that I like, a charity bike ride, and a couple of different museums. You have a cat. Your card says you practice art law. Oh, and you're so damn gorgeous that the first time I found you on Tinder, I dropped my phone into a grate and lost it."

"You come on very strong." Hux warned, after a few moments of silence. "That kind of enthusiasm can be intimidating on a man your size." Ben's face broke out into a huge grin, and he bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. 

"I can work on that! I have the capacity to chill, honest." With a snort and a shake of his head, Hux let the issue drop. Sort of. 

"One last question. How did you know I'd be at the station tonight?"

Ben laughed out loud, pulling out his phone. "I didn't. Hell, I'm thinking it was fate. You showed up in the background of a selfie I was taking. See?" Hux could just spot the red of his own hair over Ben's shoulder, but he was more focused on the intense look Ben was giving the camera. "I'd just downloaded Tinder onto my replacement phone, and that was gonna be my new profile pic."

To his own surprise, Hux found himself laughing. Damn it, Ben was right. If they worked out, this  _would_  be be the best meet-cute he'd ever heard. "Alright, alright. Point proven, the universe wants us to get a drink." He held out his hand, which Ben took eagerly. "Shall we?"

One drink and nachos turned into two, turned into four once Ben let it slip that his last name was Organa. As in the son of Leia Organa. Yes,  _that_  Leia Organa, Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

"And I bet I seemed so normal, too." He said wistfully, patting Hux's back through his coughing fit as his beer went down the wrong way. 

"No, you really didn't." Hux wheezed, face cherry red.

They capped off the night with a single, incredibly intense kiss on the train platform that had Hux still leaning into it when Ben pulled away. Almost as an afterthought, Ben slipped his own business card into Hux's hand. "How about we let the ball be in your court? If you want to see me again, text me tomorrow." As he watched Ben board his train, waving dazedly as it pulled away, Hux didn't have a single doubt in his mind that yes, he did and yes, he would.

The next morning, he wakes up to a Facebook friend request from Leia Organa, whose son, in a moment completely lacking chill, had apparently called her from the train to announce that he’d met the man he wanted to marry.

It was a lot to unpack at 7 am. 


End file.
